Paradies Lagardère Names Rick Walters Executive Vice President, Group CFO

Paradies Lagardère announced that Rick Walters has joined the company as executive vice president, group CFO. He will report to President and CEO Gregg Paradies. In his role, Walters will be responsible for leading the company’s finance, accounting and IT organizations, ensuring all initiatives align strategically with the company’s objectives and goals.

“I’m excited to have Rick join our leadership team,” said Paradies. “Rick brings a wealth of skills and experience to Paradies Lagardère, which spans food and beverage, retail, consumer goods, and many other sectors. He’s also held CEO, president, and group CFO positions with several global companies. With our growing company, which includes our Hojeij Branded Foods/Vino Volo acquisition, Rick will also play a significant role in the integration process. We look forward to his contributions to the company.”

Walters has more than 30 years of leadership expertise in mergers and acquisitions, operations, manufacturing, investor relations and talent development. He’s held leadership roles at Newell Brands where he served as group CFO and divisional CFO, O’Sullivan Industries, where he was president and CEO, and Sun Capital Partners, where he was group CFO.

His most recent role was with Morgan Stanley Private Equity. There, he served as a consultant to private equity deals and the operations team tasked to drive results at portfolio businesses. In that capacity, Rick held the position of interim chief administrative officer with Hojeij Branded Foods. Paradies Lagardère recently expanded its award-winning food and beverage operations with the acquisition of Hojeij Branded Foods. The new Paradies Lagardère Dining Division is positioned to provide travelers with the best food and customer service in the airport industry.